Thanks, Krov
by obsessedwithnalu
Summary: When Krov decided to relax at his favorite bar after work, he never imagined that he'd be seeing some of his old guild members, especially since he thought they had died long ago. Nalu fluff.


**A/N: Ah Krov, the person responsible for sending Natsu to Hargeon and consequently the person responsible for Natsu meeting Lucy. I sometimes wonder what happened to him since he disappeared after the Tenrou arc.**

 **Disclaimer: Be glad that Fairy Tail is not mine; as often as I write, you'd only get a chapter every few months.**

* * *

Life as a rich merchant's bodyguard may not have been glamorous and exciting, but at least it paid the bills. Krov had been doing this job for nearly a decade and it was always the same, accompany his boss between and within the great cities of Pergrande, fight any bandits that might try their luck with their tempting caravan (which thankfully wasn't often), and in times of safety, along with the rest of the crew, take his turn acting as a chauffeur and general laborer.

It sure was different from his old life. Oftentimes, he found himself missing the chaos and unpredictability of his old guild, Fairy Tail. He missed the crazy parties, the beautiful girls, his friends, heck, he even missed getting dragged into insane guild brawls from time to time.

When Master Makarov and their most powerful mages disappeared—the island they were on obliterated by a dragon's blast as the magic council told them later—Krov tried to stay positive, tried to believe that they weren't really dead, tried to stick with Fairy Tail.

In the end it was too hard though. In a short time, Fairy Tail went from being the top guild in Fiore, respected for their strong wizards and infamous for the havoc they caused, to a guild desperately struggling to get by. The guild had to move premises, the amount of missions coming in dwindled to practically nothing, and respect for the remaining Fairy Tail mages hit rock bottom.

After a particularly bad month, in which the lack of missions made it impossible to buy food let alone pay his rent, Krov knew it was time to go. He met his current employer by a stroke of luck—meeting the man while he vacationed in Fiore. Within a few months, Krov was living on the other side of the continent, a valued member of his new team.

He was enjoying some down time now, having a few drinks with a co-worker, totally unaware that he'd soon be meeting again with a part of his past.

"Did you hear about Watt?" his friend Nobu asked him, smiling like whatever he had to say was the best joke ever.

Krov was instantly curious. Watt was another co-worker of theirs, the strongest of their crew. Krov appreciated having him on his side in a fight, yet he was very aware that Watt could be a total asshole—his ego was over-inflated, thinking that his natural good looks and strength made him better than everyone else. This was never more evident than whenever he interacted with those of the opposite sex, his attitude clearly demonstrating that any attention he bestowed upon them—no matter how obnoxious—was to be considered a compliment.

"It was great man!" Nobu went on, laughing at the memory. "We saw a totally smokin' hot babe and Watt being Watt decided he had to have her." Nobu let out a chuckle. "She barely even let him talk, instantly turned him down flat and started walking away."

That was interesting. Usually with his good looks, Watt usually had to open his mouth a bit more before women caught on to what was lying under the surface.

"Didn't please Watt at all, I'll tell you what. Thought he'd teach her a lesson, if you know what I mean."

Krov sat up straighter. He knew he had his own faults, but he couldn't stand violence against innocent women.

Nobu smirked. "He was more than a little surprised when it turned out she was a wizard too."

"Really?" Krov asked, liking where this story was heading. "What kind?"

"Celestial spirit mage." his friend answered. "Man, I haven't seen one of those in years."

That tugged at Krov's memory. He hadn't seen one in a long time either—not since his days in Fairy Tail.

"She any good?"

A huge, excited smile lit up Nobu's face. "Took her less than a minute to knock Watt out."

That definitely surprised Krov...and worried him a little. Watt was their powerhouse, after all. He hoped she wasn't a bandit. He didn't want to have to fight her himself someday.

"It was awesome." Nobu continued. "Had one spirit put up this fluffy wall, totally blocking Watt's attack. Then I swear somehow she changed clothes and then her and a different spirit sent Watt flying against a wall. Fucking sweet it what it was; I wish you had seen it."

"Boss isn't gonna be happy." Krov mumbled into his drink.

Nobu shrugged. "Dude totally had it coming."

Krov wasn't about to argue with that. They both had known Watt long enough to know he had it coming several times over.

They talked like this for a little while longer, Nobu finally excusing himself to use the restroom. It was then that Krov became aware of a very loud, very familiar voice yelling across the room.

"Oi! I know that guy! Krov!" the voice sounded nearby. "Lucy, Happy, do you see!? It's Krov!"

That voice! He knew it too! How was it even possible though? He was supposed to be dead, gone when Tenroujima was vaporized off the face of Earthland. How could it be that he was here, alive and well, after all that time? How did he ever survive?

Krov looked around, trying to locate the owner of the voice, still not quite believing that he'd see him.

But no, there he was on the far side of the room, near the entrance, that pink hair of his acting like a beacon. There was no mistaking it.

"Natsu?" Krov choked out, beyond shocked to see the well-known dragon-slayer of his former guild.

"You!" Natsu exclaimed, pointing right at Krov in excitement. The blue cat perched on his shoulder looked bemused at his partner's behavior. Natsu rushed at him then, yelling, "Krov! I _knew_ it was you!"

Krov cringed, preparing himself for a punch or kick, remembering past interactions that he'd had with Natsu. However, the greeting he was expecting never came. Instead, Krov found himself being jerked about as the dragon-slayer enthusiastically shook him by both hands.

"What are the odds, huh?" Natsu said, grinning from ear to ear, soon enough stopping the jarring action.

"No kidding..." Krov replied. He was still having trouble believing this was real.

"I figured you must've left Fairy Tail some time ago. You been here the whole time?"

"Well, I traveled around a little at first..." Krov admitted. Really though, what the hell was Natsu Dragneel, of all people, doing here in Pergrande? Not to mention him being alive and looking almost as young as he remembered him?

Natsu hadn't been listening. "Lucy! You remember Krov, right?" he called over his shoulder. It was then that Krov noticed the beautiful blonde girl sidling up to the dragon-slayer.

Offering up a hand bearing the Fairy Tail guild mark in pink, Krov took it.

"I think I remember seeing you. You were a Fairy Tail mage too, right?" Lucy asked, shaking his hand much gentler than the man she was with had. Krov stopped breathing for a moment; had she been this beautiful when he met her all those years ago?

He had no idea how long he stood like that just holding her hand and staring at her face. A loud throat-clearing sound brought him out of his trance-like state. It originated from the dragon-slayer, who was giving him a slightly annoyed look. Remembering himself, Krov hastily let go of Lucy's hand. Both Happy, who still perched on his partner's shoulder, and Lucy giggled at the situation; Natsu soon enough joined in, chuckling good-naturedly.

"It's nice seeing a familiar face again." Lucy said to Krov, then directed her next comment at Natsu. "I need to powder my nose. Do you want me to order some food for you on the way back?"

Natsu nodded enthusiastically. "One of everything for me. How 'bout you, Krov?" Natsu added, turning towards his former guildmate.

"What...you don't have to..." Krov began only to be talked over by Natsu.

"I insist." he stated with finality.

Well, since Natsu was so serious about it, who was Krov to say no to a free meal? Besides, he did want to talk to Natsu, hear all about how they survived and what the rest of Fairy Tail was up to. He gave his order willingly to Lucy, anticipating with pleasure his free sandwich.

Lucy began to turn away, prompting Happy to speak up.

"Hey! Don't forget about me!" he whined.

"As if I could." Lucy then closed her eyes and put the first two fingers of both her hands to her temples. "Let me guess, you want...fish?"

"And lots of it! I'm starving!" Happy agreed.

Lucy smiled and walked away this time. Krov spent some time staring after her (he especially liked the way her ass moved under her short skirt) only to brought back to his senses by another throat-clearing sound from Natsu.

"Like what you see?" he asked, his arms crossed, his expression inscrutable.

"Is it just me, or did she get even hotter than before?" Krov asked, looking over his shoulder again at the departing female. "I mean, damn!"

Both Natsu and Happy said nothing; Natsu glared at him for some reason, and Happy laughed loud and long while Krov looked at the two of them in complete bewilderment.

"Anyways, tell me how you're even alive!" Krov said, wishing to ease the strange tension by changing the topic. "And what the hell are you even doing here?"

Eager to change the subject as well, Natsu complied.

It was an amazing tale and Krov was sure that if he hadn't been a Fairy Tail member, he never would've believed Natsu. To think that their first master had such a magic spell like Fairy Sphere in her arsenal—it really was quite lucky for everyone on that island. He was really glad to hear that Fairy Tail had re-earned their spot as the top guild in the country and that they had found such strong allies in the other powerful guilds of the nation.

Natsu was just starting to tell him in more detail about their troubles with Zeref (the name gave Krov the chills—to think he had been alive all these years) when Lucy came back carrying a tray of food. She wasn't the only one—two waitresses also carried heavily-laden trays, as well as, surprisingly, his friend Nobu.

 _It's her! It's her!_ His friend silently mouthed to him, gesturing with a tilt of his head towards Lucy.

He looked at her in shock. Lucy Heartfilia knocked out their best person in less than a minute? She really had changed, having grown not only in beauty, but in power as well. He should have figured she would, with a guild like Fairy Tail to keep up with.

"This is my friend, Nobu. We work together." Krov told Natsu then began the other half of the introductions. "Nobu, these are old comrades of mine from Fairy Tail. Natsu Dragneel, Happy, and Lucy Heartfilia."

"Dragneel." came the immediate reply from all three Fairy Tail mages.

Krov looked at them in confusion. Nobu sat down next to him, grinning like a loon.

"I'm Lucy Dragneel now." she admitted, smiling and showing off her non-marked hand, the ring on it twinkling at him.

"You and _him_?" Krov asked when he recovered enough from his shock to speak.

"She liiiikes him." Happy said in confirmation, coming down from Natsu's shoulder to start on the cod fillets set before him.

"Yeah, I do." Lucy agreed, then rubbed her nose cutely with the dragon-slayer next to her. It sent Krov's mind reeling seeing a girl do that with Natsu of all people.

"But she's...with _you_?"

"Oi! Why's that so hard to believe?"

"Sorry, it's just...since when do you like girls?" Honestly, if there was one guy in the guild that he thought wouldn't ever succumb to a woman's charms, it was Natsu. Krov had, in fact, made money in bets using that bit of information about his character in the past.

"Lucy isn't just a girl, she's Lucy." Natsu stated as if that explained it all. Apparently it worked for Natsu's companions; Happy sat nodding in agreement as he continued to chew and Lucy gave her husband a sappy smile.

"You knew, didn't you?" Krov asked his co-worker.

"That they were married? Yeah." Nobu answered, laughing a little. "I was pretty surprised to see her again so we talked at the bar."

It was like the world had turned upside-down. Natsu Dragneel married to a hottie like Lucy? How had that even come about?

The rest of the night passed in conversation. Natsu and Lucy had a lot to say about what they had been doing the past few years. In a way, he was sorta glad to not have been a part of it—Zeref and Acnologia seemed pretty damn scary.

Nobu went home after an hour; he had a wife of his own that needed attention. Krov, however, stayed. Who knows when the next chance to meet with former guild members would come?

"It's pretty amazing to run into you after all these years. Lucky, y'know?" Krov observed to the group.

"It's Lucy's doing." Natsu commented. When Krov gave him a look that signified that he didn't understand, Natsu explained further.

"I wanted to see you. I just thought about it while we traveled and let Lucy pick where to go. She's pretty lucky. And, well, here we are."

"Wait. You wanted to see _me_? Why?"

"Once, long ago, someone bought me lunch as thanks for doing them a favor I didn't even realize I had done." Natsu answered Krov while looking at Lucy. Lucy smiled back at him. "I just wanted to pay back the favor you did me."

"I did _you_ a favor? Really?" Krov couldn't think of any thing that he had done that would lead Natsu to think he owed Krov something. Really, their interactions were pretty minimal; mostly he just remembered the guild brawls with him.

Natsu chuckled and nodded. "You probably thought you were playing a joke on me at the time. It's what I thought myself back then. It turned out though, that without meaning to, you gave me my greatest treasure. And I'm grateful every day for it."

Krov was only a little surprised when Lucy then kissed Natsu, although the level of passion they displayed during it made him a little uncomfortable (and of course, a little envious).

And then it clicked; Natsu was thanking him for Lucy.

Natsu was right; Krov had quite the laugh at the time when he sent him off to Hargeon to follow up on the rumors of a "Salamander" being there. It was a little less funny when he got kicked in the head for it, but that was Fairy Tail for you. He never would've guessed that his little joke would someday lead to two people coming together as husband and wife, especially since one of them was Natsu.

Life was funny sometimes.


End file.
